Stargate: Dark Frontier 2x10 Lagoon
by Lone-ranger1
Summary: Alien life is something that's exactly that, Alien. Sometimes it's peaceful, other times, like this, it's not. John and a rag tag team will have to fight to survive a night in the Lagoon, and rescue someone from a dire fate. But what price will they pay?
1. Chapter 1

**Stargate: Dark Frontier**

**Season 2**

**Episode 10 – Lagoon  
**

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* * *

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_410 Days IHO_

_96 Days AOI_

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For information on season 1, go to

http(COLON)/sg-darkfrontier(DOT)wikia(DOT)com/wiki/Stargate(COLON)_Dark_Frontier_Wiki

**Previously on Dark Frontier:** Tensions are soaring, and cracks are beginning to form in the bond shared by the survivors of Pegasus. There's little to do but try and cope, but Atlantis can help those who need it even if they don't necessarily want it.

So when a simple milkrun mission turns sour, Atlantis will have to react to a strange being of unimaginable depth. More than one person will find themselves deep in the mires of this Lagoon, but what will it cost to escape?

* * *

**John Sheppard:** What? What is it?

**Aleron Centaurus:** _Monsters… _

**John Sheppard:** Coming from you that's not reassuring.

**Aleron Centaurus:** No. Not them.

**John Sheppard:** Huh? Who, what?

**Aleron Centaurus:** _You._

_

* * *

_

"_As you coat your ties with burden"_

Carson stopped at the edge of the door, Reyna was _yet again_ listening to Earth music as she worked, her head covered with giant earphones that looked like those comical buns he'd seen Chuck wear pretending to be some Star Wars character. She was tapping on a Tablet, deep in whatever she was doing there.

_"The ground gets further away"_

Reyna's little office was just as messy as the last time he'd been in here. How she kept on top of everything was impressive, but given that today wasn't an in-hospital day for her; Carson wasn't surprised to find her goofing off. She did have a nice voice.

_"Now that we are weightless"_

Carson sighed softly and thought about how best to interrupt her. Something amusing seemed appropriate.

_"I just have to say-to-say-to-say…"_

"Reyna, my dear. I've decided to give you the rest of the month off as long as you continue to serenade me with such a lovely voice."

To Carson's shock, Reyna spun around exposing that she only had one headphone on. "_Really?"_ Her smile was shocked and wide. "Or are you just teasing me like usual?"

Carson chortled and shook his head. "No! I'm just checking." He pointed to his head. "Good to see you're not being inattentive anymore. I was going to start throwing paper airplanes at you."

Reyna's smile turned sarcastic. "You'd never."

"I would."

"No you wouldn't."

Carson held the staring contest between them for a moment before breaking down into laughed. "Oh you're right, I'd use a needle."

Reyna grimaced. "Ouch."

Carson moved in and pulled at the file by his little bag. "Okay, so you're going on a field trip, make sure you take all the vitamin and mineral supplements we discussed."

Reyna nodded and pointed to a bag by the door. "Already packed. I haven't been off Atlantis in awhile, this'll be fun!"

Carson sighed and shook his head. "Aye, I used to think the same thing." Carson left it at that, there was no need to get into stories he wasn't proud of. "In any case lass, you'll be leaving me all alone for two days. What shall I ever do without you?"

Reyna smirked and shrugged. "I can think of a thing or two."

Her lascivious smile told Carson everything he needed to know, and he pointed out to the door behind him. "Out! Or you'll be late and I won't give you any excuses!"

Reyna chuckled and set her tablet down. The jury-rigged mix of Earth and Traveler components made a formidable device, if a little heavy. Carson was impressed that Reyna could hold onto it for so long.

He patted her on the shoulder as she walked over and pulled her into an amicable hug, He noticed her snuggle into him just a little like she always did. Carson had come to understand Reyna was a very tactile person, and would often initiate physical contact. He didn't mind.

As they opened the door though, both gave double takes to the torso high bird that stood in front of them. Carson struggled for words as the bird looked curiously at them and squawked. Reyna just chuckled. "Now that's a big bird."

Carson knew at some point in the future there was going to be a barbeque featuring giant roasted Hoag's Chicken.

* * *

"You're asking the wrong person." Alicia sat on the stairs, waiting for the rest of the team that was going out to the Settler village along with her and Aleron. Like it or not, she missed Dan and his childish yet easily answerable questions. Thankfully the Marine would be back on his feet in short time, once his physiotherapy was done. "Personally I like being able to sit on a toilet instead of squatting in a latrine."

Aleron grimaced. "I was not thinking of _that_ primitive, but I do wonder why these Settlers prefer to make their own homes and fields when they have all they need on Atlantis."

Around them, a few travelers and settlers milled about their everyday lives. Alicia often wondered what they did; they couldn't _all_ have important jobs. She knew a lot of them were just bored and learning about how to live in the city. Many were still refurbishing their rooms and habitats to 'suit' them. Alicia had run into more livestock walking loose in the city than she'd ever imagined, not that she'd ever imagined she'd ever run into livestock in the first place. "It's something to do with their beliefs."

Aleron shrugged and flexed his fists. His Proteus armor had finally been customized for him and he wore similar patterns as Alicia, except in blue. Alicia could tell he was looking at the armor and wishing for a pair of the Olim Alcaeus armor - so was she. "It's difficult to reason with people whose beliefs outweigh their reason."

Alicia smiled; she liked what Aleron was saying. "Fundamentalists. I hate em."

"There's nothing wrong with belief mind you." Aleron added; he turned his head as if sensing something. "But there's a fine line between belief and extremism. The problem is the line is different for each person."

Now Alicia lost a bit of her smile. She didn't like this anymore. "So who draws the line? What makes something right and something wrong?"

"No one."

Suddenly dejected, Alicia was glad when she heard familiar footsteps on the staircase above her. She turned and saw John and Rafaela coming down, with Ronon behind them – each dressed in their respective armors. "Finally, I was about to start charging interest."

Rafaela sighed and winced slightly. "Sorry, my fault." She didn't elaborate, but seeing John's playful smirk, Alicia knew it must have been… _awkward._ "We still need to bring the turrets through. We have four we're going to deploy."

Ronon slammed down into the ground from the last step and grunted. "Gotta teach em how to use 'em too." He looked to Aleron who seemed mildly amused. "What's so funny?"

Aleron shrugged again and said nothing.

John looked around the gate room as if waiting for someone. "Alright… so who's left? Rey and Rollie's team?"

"Rollie?" Alicia asked. "Who?"

"Roland." Ronon replied. "Doing some live fire training."

As if summoned, Reyna and Roland's team appeared from the side of the Gate room, all in their own respective armors. Alicia noticed instantly that they'd all modified their suits to suit their personal needs; most obviously she noticed Reyna's chest plate was a little larger than normal. "There they are."

"Does Reyna look…?" Aleron began.

"Yes." Alicia muttered quickly under her breath before the others could figure it out. "Don't ask."

Aleron merely stroked his chin. "I see."

* * *

Stepping through the event horizon, John instantly felt both better for the fresh air, but worse at leaving Atlantis behind. The sun was past mid-day here and soon it'd be dark in this damp and moist tropical wonderland. He stepped forward and instantly felt something squishy underneath. "Ugh!" He moved to the side giving room for the others as he looked at his boot.

Aleron and Alicia came through next, with Aleron nimbly dodging the rather nasty looking pie on the ground. Alicia wasn't so lucky and slipped on it, barely staying upright. "Waah!"

Aleron quickly caught her by the crook on her arm, the particle rifle flying about and smacking Aleron on the side. If they hadn't yelped in pain, John would have thought it was funny. Actually, he _did_ think it was funny, but he'd never tell them.

The rest of the team came through without incident, and John and Alicia quickly cleaned their boots off on the soft sticky dirt. John knew jack squat about planting and gardening, but he figured this made for great soil and likely why the settlers had decided to colonize this planet.

Roland's team took point, and he admired how the Traveler actually managed to maintain control of his people with words alone, no need for force. He also noticed Ashima checking out Roland's butt, but it's not like that didn't happen every day.

"John?" John turned his head to Alicia who'd called him. "You mind if I take a vacation here?"

John smirked and shrugged. "I might hafta join you. Last tropical planet we had was a little… _buggy."_

Alicia smirked, as did Aleron though much more subtly. John merely ignored it and continued to walk towards the village. It took almost thirty minutes to get across the wet bog like ground, but eventually they'd reached the encampment.

It was a simple affair, four large buildings had been erected with several smaller tents surrounding. About sixty settlers lived in this place, with a few Travelers giving assistance with construction. John sighed softly seeing that while the buildings were made of some resilient materials, there was still construction going on. Particularly he noted the absence of any septic systems.

John watched carefully as the team split up. Alicia and Aleron moved out with Ronon and Rafaela, looking around for good places to set up the turrets Rafaela had brought along.

It made sense to assist the settlers with defense. It wasn't just the Olim and Shade to be worried about, and John couldn't help but wonder what kind of alien life forms lived on this planet.

Reyna greeted the settlers who'd noticed them, John didn't feel like getting involved in the whole medical thing so he left them alone, instead looking to Roland. "Hey, get settled in and meet me in that clearing we passed through. We're going to do some field training out there."

Roland nodded and moved out. John sighed and decided to go and get a feel for the training ground.

* * *

"You've all done VR training with grenades, but nothing really prepares you for the real thing." John tossed the M-67 Fragmentation grenade up and down in his hand as he looked to Roland, Ashima, Presjan and Demetus. They all looked more curious than interested. "Who wants to give it a try first?"

The clearing was nice and open, no real place to take cover besides the rocks they'd situated themselves by. It made a perfect training ground for explosives. Roland stepped up first and took the grenade. "What use is this? It might damage a shade but it'd be faster to just shoot it."

John shrugged and pointed towards a small branch target he'd set up. "Who says we'll only ever fight Shade or Olim? And who says these are the only grenades we have?"

Ashima raised her eyebrows in surprise. "What? You've got others?"

John just shrugged. "Who knows? But it still makes sense to learn how to use these. Simple stuff. Pull the pin, throw, and duck." John smirked. "VR can't duplicate that _thud_ these babies give off."

* * *

"Here." Ronon helped Rafaela dig in the ground spike that would keep the moveable turret in place, the turret itself now popping out and ready for use. Rafaela smiled at Ronon who'd brushed beside her to get a good grip.

Rafaela looked around and fanned her face with her hand. "It's nice out here, too wet though."

Ronon shrugged and drove in the next spike with a hard twist. A dull thump was heard as it extended out a small plate at the bottom to keep it seated. "Kinda like a beach."

Rafaela chuckled softly and turned her attention to the turret. "You know, when I started to work on this, I questioned what I was doing. I mean… this _is_ a weapon meant to kill."

"Weapons usually do that."

"I know." Rafaela input her command code into the turret which now opened up into a quad cannon particle gun. "I guess it's strange, I'm not used to building weapons. Most of the time on Atlantis I'm doing maintenance or trying to figure out what all those ancient gizmos do."

Ronon drove the final spike in and then looked to Rafaela. "Find anything cool?"

Shrugging, Rafaela began to run a diagnostic on the targeting system using her wrist computer. "I found an Ancient music box. It's kinda cool; it just opens up, gives off some light and plays this weird melody." She smiled. "Kinda made me wanna go to sleep. I think the light is an oscillating frequency that helps your brain get into beta waves." She stopped suddenly realizing that Ronon was staring at her in confusion. "Uhh… it helps you go to sleep."

Ronon grunted. "Wasn't that easier to say?"

* * *

"So these will be the first of many?"

Alicia nodded and propped her head up on her hand, which in turn was on her knee propped up using her elbow. Aleron thought she looked in a very pensive state. He could almost call her a 'Thinker'. They were seated in the 'hospital' building of the village waiting for Reyna. "Yeah, most of them will be on Atlantis, but we've set up a few worlds like these already. The Travelers want to set up some backup caches as well just in case we ever need it."

Aleron watched as Reyna and the midwives of the village tended to the rather pregnant women lying in bed. "How does this work exactly?"

Alicia blushed "Umm… they never taught you how babies work?"

Aleron smirked condescendingly. "Daniel may have mentioned something about something called a stork arriving." Seeing Alicia's annoyed glare, Aleron explained. "I meant the birth. Will it really happen here in this building?"

Alicia shrugged. "I suppose. They've got everything they need here, and in an emergency we can just take someone to Atlantis." Alicia narrowed her eyes at Aleron. "Why? The Olim do things differently?"

Aleron just shrugged in reply. This was one of those things Daniel had told him to be wary of.

Alicia caught his hesitation though and sat up, leaning towards Aleron. "No no no… you're not dodging me this time."

Aleron looked back over to where Reyna was checking the woman's heart beat with a scanner, as well as the baby inside her. He had learned that these humans did things differently, and the more he stood out, the more alone he really was. "Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur." He turned back to Daniel. "I said that to Daniel when I saw his skill with people,"

Alicia furrowed her brow and worked it out. "Uh… vir… it? Sapit is knowledge, qui is who, and pauca loquitur… little?" Alicia growled. "You always do this. I swear I'm going to learn your language if it kills me."

Aleron just chuckled. "Perhaps these words mean more to you then than I though. 'It is a wise person who speaks little'."

Alicia opened her mouth in surprised, but then turned away in frustration. Aleron had really caught her off guard with that and he knew she _hated_ when he did that. It was nice to see her fight to get on equal footing with him – almost sporting.

* * *

Reyna finished up with her quick check of the infirm and pregnant of this village, and now she had her own personal issues to attend to. "Alicia?"

Alicia turned from her seated position and nodded. "Yeah?"

"I'm gonna go vent a wraith; I'll be back in a few minutes."

Alicia screwed her face for a moment, but then recalled the travelerism and smirked. "Oh! Okay, we'll be here. Not like there's much else to do."

Reyna smiled at both Alicia and Aleron and gave them a quick pat on the shoulders as she left the building. The outside was damp and muggy, not at all the kind of atmosphere she liked. She'd been struggling not to spend so much time on _Lucy _to try and get used to Atlantis but it was difficult. A lifetime on a ship meant she was keenly in tune with living in an enclosed environment.

The outdoors was just a little too… _big_ for her. She wondered exactly what it was that attracted the Earthers about this sort of place. It was wet, it made he sweaty and sticky inside her suit, and even more, the extra large armor plating she'd gotten for her chest to provide some extra breathing room made a perfect sauna. She morbidly wondered if cheese was possible.

The sun was still lazing about in the afternoon, slowly heading down towards the deep greens and reds of this planet's trees. She knew the Ancestors had designed planets in Pegasus to be habitable by them. She never thought just how much that meant until she'd seen reports of planets the probes they sent out came back with.

Arid wastelands, seas of molten sulfur, one particular planet had shifting gravity that made one day normal for a human, and the next impossible for even the Shade. Aleron had explained that only about three percent of the planets the Olim had discovered using the Stargates and their ships were even habitable, let alone cultivatable. The eight planets Atlantis had found were a godsend.

Heading to the latrine, Reyna instantly winced upon seeing the state of it. She'd brought sanitizer, but she wasn't in any mood to have to shower in it afterwards. Oh well, that's what the ancestors made these woods for right? Reyna daintily grabbed some toilet paper from the latrine and walked away.

She waved to Rafaela and Ronon who walked along the edge of the village, checking for gods knew what. Reyna could see they walked close together, much closer than she'd seen them before. It was nothing strange to her, Travelers found partners all the time. What really worried Reyna, if worried was the word she wanted to use, was Dusty.

Dusty still hadn't awoken; something was preventing her conscious mind from taking control even though all her wounds were healed. Reyna had begun to use an electrostatic therapy to keep Dusty's muscles from atrophying, but Dusty would still be stiff and weak if and when she woke up.

Reaching the edge of the woods around the village, Reyna found herself a nice little nook and looked around. A peeping tom wouldn't have meant much, but the Earther's concept of privacy was starting to get to her.

To her surprise, she felt a slight tremble in the ground as she prepared to 'vent a wraith'. She stopped and looked around. Maybe Ronon and Rafaela had caught up to her and were planting one of those big turrets. She peeked out the side of the tree she was hiding behind and saw no one. Figuring it was just a bird or squirrel type creature, Reyna took a step back-

And found herself suddenly sinking. She yelped as she lost her balance and dropped one had to brace herself. Her right hand drove into the ground wrist deep and was stuck as well. She'd just been standing on this, how did it suddenly get so… "Hey! Someone!"

Reyna struggled to pull out of the muck, but found herself being pulled in. She used her other foot to try and pull herself out, but that's when she realized something was pulling on her. "Hey! Help! Somebody!"

It was a _hard_ pull; she couldn't fight it, and the next thing she knew she was elbow deep and on one knee. She rocked her head back and forth engaging the radio and screamed. _"Help!"_

She didn't have her helmet on, if she got pulled under, she'd suffocate. Panic struck and Reyna shrieked at the top of her lungs as she was yanked under and into the ground violently.

* * *

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	2. Chapter 2

John barely heard the scream from as far from the village as he was, but Alicia's frantic voice over the radio calling for help was more than enough. Roland's team scampered along right behind him taking flanking positions. John momentarily felt proud that they automatically did it without needing orders.

They skidded into the village which had gone deathly quiet in comparison to the activity of before. Everyone was locked in the four buildings; no children were around playing, no adults chatting about crops. Nothing. All John could see were Alicia, Aleron and Ronon waiting for him by the edge of the village in the opposite direction. "Hey!"

Alicia waved him over, she looked quiet angry. "John! Something happened to Reyna!" Alicia was already beginning to move towards where the scream had come from. "She's not picking up her radio, it was this way!"

"Wait!" John called out; he was still ten feet behind Alicia. "We need to regroup!"

"That's what I called you for!" Alicia screamed back. Ronon and Aleron kept to her side covering her with particle rifles. John wondered where everyone else had gone. He unslung his particle rifle and made hand motions to Roland's team to fan out and make a pincer movement on the target.

Alicia seemed overexcited, but not in a good way. "Come on come on!" She frantically waved them forward. John decided to regain control of the situation and bolted ahead at full speed, easily catching up.

"Now wait just a minute!" John caught up to Alicia and took point, careful to watch the treeline where Reyna's scream had come from. "Flanking search formation! Spread out! Report anything strange you see!"

Alicia looked like she wanted to yell but held back. Whatever it was could evidently wait. John moved ahead with Alicia and Ronon covering his six. Aleron had moved off on his own to their left while Roland's team spread out evenly. John flicked open his wrist computer and tapped in the receiver frequency for the Proteus Armors. He quickly ruled out the rest of his team, but couldn't find Reyna's. "I can't see her…"

Alicia stepped forward and entered the tree line; she ducked behind a tree and popped out scanning the area. "Nothing! Dammit where the hell is she?"

John grit his teeth, he understood Alicia's anger at losing a teammate like this but she needed calm. It looked like he was going to have to beat it into her. "Stay sharp _Major,_ wherever she is we need to focus!"

Alicia continued to steam as she looked around the area. Nothing seemed disturbed or moved. Aleron moved in from the side and shook his head. "I don't see her either. She seems to have vanished."

Alicia turned and spit acid. "You can't just _vanish!_ This isn't the rapture for fuck's sake."

John saw that Alicia was losing it. As far as he knew, this was the first time she'd lost someone under her command. The adrenaline rush never changed, but the control that came with experience was something she didn't have. "_Alicia!"_

Saying her first name in full snapped her attention. Alicia looked at John and clenched her jaw. John could see in her face as she regained her control. John tapped his radio and spoke. "Anyone see Rey?"

_"No." _Roland's voice came back. _"We can try and track her suit's power signature."_

Alicia didn't even wait for orders to begin working on her wrist computer. John looked around and tried to make sense of what was going on. Unless Reyna had developed flight or burrowing powers, there was nowhere she could have gone.

_"Got it!"_ Alicia called out snapping John back to attention. "She's… she's moving. That way!" Alicia pointed out to the distance and began to move out.

John again grimaced. "Wait! We need to regroup and make sure the village is protected!" He turned to Roland's team who now approached. Alicia turned back but was pumping her fists and jittery. "Alright, we're heading back to the village and Atlantis. We'll need some Jumpers." John turned to Demetus who skidded to a halt in front of him John looked him up and down, he was short and wiry, his face gaunt with the look of someone who was used to running around getting things done.

John waved with his hand emphasizing his orders. "Demetus, get back to the gate and bring reinforcements. We'll make sure the village is alright before we move out." He turned to Alicia who looked like a fire had been lit beneath her. "Once we've got some support, we'll move out."

Alicia held back her words, but John knew he'd have to have a talk with her later… if there was a later.

Before they could begin moving though, the ground suddenly began to shake. John stumbled and caught a hold of a tree. "Earthquake!"

* * *

Rafaela watched as the turrets she'd helped Ronon install now popped up and armed themselves. Some of the settlers took defensive positions with particle and gauss weapons they'd brought from Atlantis. The team was off in the woods searching for Reyna when the ground bean to shake. "What the…"

It wasn't a huge tremor, but enough to drop a few potted plants and decorations in the building. The settlers who were manning the turrets prepared themselves – Rafaela unslung her particle magnum ready to at least try and help.

In the distance where the trees were, a loud rumbling tore through the silence of the planet. Rafaela watched as trees shook and then fell, the team screaming on the radio. _"This is Sheppard! Fall back! Get to the village!"_

Rafaela felt her arms shaking. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. She aimed shakily towards the rumbling and saw Sheppard and Roland's teams exit at top speed, firing behind them all the way .Red pulses scorched the leaves of the trees and splashed against some dark mass hidden behind them.

The Settlers aimed their stationary cannons, everyone ready to defend the village. Rafaela knew that these planets were untamed and likely dangerous. Why couldn't everyone just stay on Atlantis?

The teams skidded into the village and took cover positions by the turrets. John stood at the helm leading the team with Aleron and Alicia nearby; Ronon took over one of the turrets while Roland's team took cover by a large bunch of cut down trees. An evenly spaced out formation meant that the village was covered from all directions with at least two turrets, ensuring that a flanking maneuver wasn't going to be easy. Rafaela crawled out and called to Sheppard. "Colonel! What is it?"

John was breathing heavily and turned to her. "Doc! Stay down!"

Ahead of the team, the woods suddenly seemed to spread apart like a zipper and a large amorphous blob burst forth. Rafaela instantly recognized it from reports. "Hey! That's…"

Aleron let out a growl as he got up and fired. "_Amoeba!"_

Everyone with a weapon fired, the large brownish blue creature flinching as it was showered with particle weapon fire. Rafaela recalled Sam's vivid explanation of how the creatures were made of metamaterial like skin that easily absorbed kinetic energy, but particle weapons had an effect. She added her own fire and prayed this was enough.

_"Where the hell did that come from!"_

_"Who cares, just shoot it!"_

Rafaela heard random voices screaming as the Amoeba gibbered and tried to dodge from the fire, but the range was too close and the target too large. Rafaela watched as pieces of it began to fall off, spurts of some unknown fluid spewing out of the recently burned through holes. The turrets were the real damage dealers as they put enough firepower to actually wound the thing.

The creature howled as it neared the village. It spun around exposing its uninjured back and lashed out with a shaped tendril sweeping the trees Roland's team was using for cover away like twigs. Roland and his team fell back, firing blindly as they ran.

Now surrounded, the Amoeba began to shake violently and spun around. The team jumped away dodging the flying tendrils. Rafaela was far enough away to be safe, but watched as the Amoeba flung one tendril at Alicia. She jumped and rolled away, John covering her as she fell back. The Amoeba took exception though and instead of swinging, flung a tendril straight forward to John like a punch.

He couldn't dodge it, and the tendril hit him like a freight train sending him up and back. John flew through the air and smashed into one of the wooden buildings breaking through the wall. He didn't say anything over his radio.

The Amoeba shook again and fell back under the surrounding fire, but instead of heading into the woods, it seemed to just burrow into the ground before draining away, Rafaela couldn't tell if they'd killed it or whether it could naturally do that. Her hands were shaking and her breathing hard. She caught her wits and rushed over to the broken wall where she heard violent coughing.

Roland's team retook cover positions and held their ground, the Amoeba was gone but clearly they'd need more firepower. Alicia and Aleron rushed over to the building as well and arrived just as Rafaela did.

John was on his side, blood dripping down his lips and body trembling. Without a doctor, Rafaela wasn't completely sure what to do. "Colonel!"

Alicia crouched down next to John and shook his shoulder. "John… _John!"_

John coughed and spit up a little more blood, he breathed raggedly and tried to get up but failed. "_Argh!"_

Aleron covered them as Alicia pulled John into a better position. Rafaela stood still and shell-shocked.

* * *

Aleron could feel John's pain from even feet away. It was distracting. The armor had saved his life but it was clear that John had been badly wounded, an expert eye told Aleron that John had some broken ribs, a concussion, heavy bruising… nothing incurable but he was out of this fight.

John seemed to gather strength as he reached out and pulled Alicia viciously close, he whispered to her even as another three settlers arrived to assist him. The rest of the team remained at their posts, ready to defend the village. Aleron couldn't hear what John said, but Alicia panted from the adrenaline. The three settlers quickly surrounded John and lifted him onto a stretcher they'd brought. Aleron watched as Alicia got up, watching John as he was pulled away to the medical tent. Alicia continued panting, Aleron approached her from behind.

With his keen senses, Aleron heard Ronon storming over to John's side. He'd seen it in the way they worked and joked together. They were brothers in arms and while Ronon would remain calm and controlled in the fight ahead of them. He needed reassurance of John's survival. It wasn't something Aleron begrudged him.

Momentarily, Aleron was taken back to his own duties in the Olim Armed Forces. They were more than allies and comrades, they were family, just like the Atlanteans were… but Aleron wasn't a part of that family, at least not yet. "Alicia, we have to evacuate the village."

Alicia turned, her eyes were red, but it wasn't tears of sorrow. He could feel the aura of ferocity that had been let loose. "Aleron… I need your help. _Please."_

"I see… What do you need?"

Alicia looked out towards the woods. The Sun was beginning to set and soon it would be dark. Aleron wasn't fancying going out there in the dark, not with potential amoeba attack. "I need to you protect the village while I'm gone. I'm going after Reyna."

"What about Sheppard?" Aleron asked - he kept his tone calm and simple. "You'll never make it on your own."

Alicia brushed past Aleron and climbed out of the wreckage of the broken building. Aleron followed leaving Rafaela still shell shocked at seeing Sheppard so mangled. "I'm not going on my own. I'm sending Demetus to get reinforcements. If those things can move through the ground then they can attack us at any time. I'll take Roland, Ashima and Presjan to track Reyna, You Ronon, Rafaela and the Settlers'll have to hold out long enough for rescue to come."

Aleron understood that with Sheppard down, there wasn't going to be much of an evacuation until Atlantis sent help. He could see that Alicia was infuriated though and he worried. "Alicia, an Alcaeus never lets his rage get the better of him. Anger leads to rash decisions-"

The ground began to shake again, and Aleron found himself stumbling ahead. The settlers around them began to scream as they prepared for another potential battle. Roland's team spread out again and the turreted positions prepared to fight. Aleron watched Alicia switch her particle rifle to overload and move ahead without fear. Anger overrided fear and that was dangerous.

* * *

"Hold on buddy, we'll get you outta here." Ronon squeezed John's hand, reassuring him with his grip. John groaned softly as the settlers began to pull at his suit trying to get him unconstructed. They'd laid him down in a bed near the other ill and infirm, panic was beginning to set in.

The sounds of gunfire outside told them the battle was continuing, but it wasn't as marked as before. Ronon turned and listened, and then decided to stay put.

"Thanks, but it looks worse than it feels." John muttered as he wiped the blood from his lips. "Feels like some busted ribs, dizzy too… take more then a big splooge monster to take me down." He chuckled mindlessly, the endorphins blocking out the majority of the pain. "Leesh is pissed. Tight reins buddy."

Ronon nodded and grunted. John knew Ronon would keep them safe. The problem was would they listen to him in such a situation. "I'll send Demetus out, we'll hold till we can evac." John watched as Rafaela and Aleron entered the building, both looking worried – well... Rafaela was. Ronon noticed as well and motioned Rafaela closer. "Ella."

Rafaela walked up and stood next to John. Her breathing was ragged and jaw trembling. "There's more of them. Smaller, we drove them off." The fact that she hadn't gone completely catatonic was hopeful to John. She even seemed coherent. "Are… are you okay Colonel?"

John shrugged and winced at the pain in his chest. "_Urgh!" _He held in the pain, and then replied nonchalantly. "No, but I will be. Make sure everyone's ready to move out." He turned to see Aleron staring at him. That cold eye of his always creeped the hell out of John when it narrowed. "Ally, help her out would ya?"

Aleron's narrowed eye went wide and eyebrow high. "I see. What should I do?" John noticed him looking directly at the very pregnant settler who had her husband and other child at her side. John cursed quietly at the situation again and kept quiet.

Rafaela turned to Aleron and then around the room. Ronon gave John a gentle pat on the shoulder and muttered as he moved out. "Get em ready, we'll keep you guys safe."

John sighed and closed his eyes. He could only hope that things went alright from here. It was only a slim hope.

* * *

Ronon looked around outside the village and only saw the settlers as well as Demetus defending their position. He walked over to Demetus and growled. "Where's your team? Where's Vega?"

Demetus shrugged and looked around for targets on his turreted position. "Gone, she took Roland and-"

_"What!"_ Ronon snarled. "She just took off?" Demetus nodded and Ronon cursed under his breath. He turned back to the village and knew that they didn't have the manpower to lead a strong defensive anymore. With Sheppard down and five people not here, that meant he'd have to make due with what he had. "Go to the gate. Get help from Atlantis. We'll hold here."

Demetus turned to Ronon and asked. "It's just you and the Olim; the turrets'll help but…"

"But _nothing! _do it or we're not getting out of here alive." Ronon growled. "The gate's thirty minutes away. It'll be dark by then. Bring Carson and a heavy team. We won't be able to move out for a few hours. Just do it!"

Demetus shirked back at Ronon's ferocity. He now understood why he'd been promoted to General. Without anymore discussion, Demetus checked his particle rifle and set out for the gate.


	3. Chapter 3

"So what's the plan?" Roland asked as he followed Alicia, his gun pointed towards the ground ready to fight anything that came at them. The dark of night began to envelope around them, the stars in the sky the only natural light.

Alicia trudged forward towards the signal that Reyna's suit was giving off. It was only a weak signal, barely detectable by the combined Traveler and Asgard style sensors on the suit's wrist computer. "We find her and we get her back. Doesn't matter how, we just do it."

Roland turned to Ashima with a worried look. He was worried as hell about Reyna but throwing his life away trying to save her didn't seem all that intelligent either. These Earther's just weren't used to living out in the fringes just yet. "So Genii style, just show up and start shooting?"

Alicia turned to Roland with a vacant stare Roland quieted seeing that Alicia wasn't in the mood.

Twenty feet behind them, Presjan began to mumble over the radio. _"I think something's following us; I keep feeling the ground tremble."_

Roland was about to reply when he remembered that Alicia was in command here. He didn't like it, but she wasn't being intensely stupid just yet. Alicia clicked her radio and replied. "Copy, keep back and try to walk softly. If these things are in the ground there's no telling how they can track us."

Ashima spoke up with a less than chipper tone. "They're amoebas, so I'm guessing they have some kind of sensory adapted skin. They probably feel the vibrations and that's how they track us."

Alicia groaned softly and kept moving forward in the forest. The sun was gone now and her eyes had adjusted to the lack of light. "Great, don't suppose Chuck showed you 'Tremors' yet has he?"

"No, is that another of those earth monster movies?"

"Yeah, kinda funny actually."

Roland grimaced. The Earthers were crazy, what kind of people _enjoyed_ seeing their own people eaten and destroyed on screen?

* * *

Aleron and Ronon quickly made due with what they had. The village had been stocked with a small cache of Particle, Gauss, and even naquadah explosive tipped firearms. Ronon didn't know how effective they'd be against these amoebas, but something was better than nothing.

Of the fifty odd villagers, only twenty three were combat effective. The rest were too old or pregnant or sick to fight properly. Ronon wasn't above giving them guns, but he wasn't about to use them as a meat shield. Aleron seemed to concur as the Olim took a position outside the hospital where Sheppard still lay wounded.

Ronon had tossed a few flares around after Demetus had left, the flickering light would play tricks on their eyes in the heat of combat, but it was better than being caught unawares. Sheppard had some glow sticks as well that Ronon had placed strategically around the village washing it in an eerie blue glow.

It had been twenty minutes since Alicia had left with Roland's team. Ronon had considered radioing her and ordering them back, but another part of him said no. Alicia was on a mission to rescue a teammate, an honorable mission if he'd ever heard of one. The missing firepower would hurt, but the morale boost rescuing a captured teammate would give Atlantis was worth it.

Ronon was tired of these little skirmishes, he could feel it in his bones as he breathed in the warm and wet night air – war was coming. These amoebas were a nuisance and clearly dangerous, but everything that had happened in the last few months was just practice, just a foreshadowing for something huge. What exactly he didn't know, but Ronon had learned to listen to the heartbeat of creation and felt it accelerating.

War was coming, and Ronon would be damn sure Atlantis was ready.

* * *

_"I need your help Aleron!"_ Rafaela called out from inside the building with the wounded. Aleron turned and hesitated. He was on guard duty and one of the only ones with military training. If these Amoeba's decided to attack, he'd be needed.

"Rafaela! What is it?"

_"Just get in here!"_

Frustration set upon Aleron. He was needed inside, but he was needed outside as well. He decided to go with one problem at a time and entered the building.

Sheppard had gotten up and sat by the door with his rifle held shakily in one arm. Rafaela and two other settlers were tending to the ill. What really caught his attention was the woman sitting by Rafaela who drew labored breaths. Aleron stood shocked as he realized what was happening.

Rafaela saw him and waved to him. "Don't just stand there! Get me some sheets or a pillow or something! She's in labor!"

Beside Aleron, Sheppard softly cursed and muttered. "Just like a bad horror movie."

* * *

Ronon felt the ground shake before he saw it, the entire area around the village began to vibrate and move like sand pushed up from below. They were coming. Ronon quickly called out targets as he prepared to fire. All they had to do was hold long enough for Demetus to get back, he was sure Daniel would send an entire platoon after them.

He'd seen Aleron go inside, catching a glimpse of Sheppard sitting by the door ready to fight off intruders. This wasn't going to be easy. Ronon aimed down the sights of the particle rifle and called out. "Lock and load! Overcharge bursts! Lead your target!" Simple orders, simple commands, if only their survival didn't depend on it.

The first amoeba that came out was a small one, punching out through the ground far enough away to prevent an instant target. Fire lanced out from the defenders setting alight the forest behind the creature, only a few scored hits.

The Amoeba brushed off the strikes and burrowed back into the ground. Just a scout, Ronon knew the main attack was coming soon enough and he just needed to know from where.

The ground ahead of them towards where Alicia's team had gone rumbled and cracked open as a dozen Amoebas spit out, these almost horse sized. It wasn't like the giant one they'd fought on the abandoned Ancient planet, or even the larger one they'd killed earlier. These moved fast and rolled on the ground spitting up rocks and dirt like a screen of self-sustaining cover.

Particle shots slammed into the oncoming wave, the rifles barely made a wound while the turrets caused the real damage. Ronon watched as the Amoebas quickly dispersed forcing them to select their targets.

Only he had proteus armor, everyone else was in their civilian clothes and vulnerable. He'd have to make sure if any villages in the future wanted to move from Atlantis, they'd get some armor as well as weapons.

The first casualty was an older man who couldn't move fast. Ronon watched as the Amoeba slammed into him and absorbed his torso into it. Ronon couldn't hear a scream but the man was quickly released, but directly into the air by the fast moving creature. He went end over end, finally crashing down on a bush back first. He didn't move anymore.

Ronon targeted the killer amoeba and rushed forward. It noticed his fire and charged towards him without a care of the incoming fire. Strobe lights of particle weapons lit the night as Ronon quickly changed his armor's setting to strength mode and raised his sword.

The amoeba leapt up and tried to do the same to Ronon, but bringing his sword down at magnetically enhanced speeds and power, the amoeba was sliced in half sending a smelly ooze all around Ronon like a horrible gun splatter. More amoebas fell, their numbers thinning as the settlers fought them off in the close quarters combat.

A woman screamed as an amoeba grabbed a hold of her leg and began to pull her under into the ground. Ronon rushed forward and fired into the ground hoping to free her, but it was futile. He took a hold of her arm and shoulder trying to hold her up, but the amoeba was too strong. Ronon watched as the woman screamed for help even as she was sucked under and into the murky ground. Ronon felt his veins burning with fury, but then realized what had happened.

The village had been built using a concrete foundation. The amoebas couldn't dig through the hardened rock. If they stayed by the houses then this wouldn't happen again, something Ronon desperately wished he could have realized sooner. "Fall back! Cover the houses!"

Three settlers had been killed, two flung like ragdolls and the woman pulled into the ground. Seven amoebas lay torn apart and pockmarked with particle cannon shots. It wasn't worth it.

* * *

"She's not too far ahead, looks like we're catching up to her."

Alicia nodded to Ashima's sensor analysis. "Box formation, let's wait for Presjan and give each other cover." Alicia turned back to the traveler behind them and called out. "Presjan! Come on!"

No reply, the murky bog they were in had suddenly gone completely quiet and Alicia realized they were in the middle of nowhere without backup or support. Now they were missing another teammate. Roland turned back and cracked open a glow stick. He waved it back and forth trying to get Presjan's attention. "Damn wagnut, probably got lost."

Nothing still, Ashima raised her arm and studied the readout from her sensors. "I'm picking up his suit, but he's not moving. He's about thirty feet behind us." Ashima clicked her jaw and raised her rifle. "We should check it out."

Alicia turned and was about to say something, but quickly changed her tone. This was already her responsibility, she had to own this moment. "…Alright, let's try and find him. Glow sticks only, keep your flashlights off. I want a seven foot spread pattern. Move."

Alicia led the pack with her raised particle rifle. She held it up to her shoulder and scanned the area in front of her. She hated how light the rifle was, too easy to miscalculate movement. They quickly covered the ground to Presjan's signal and found a thick layer of bushes. Alicia grit her teeth and decided to be brave. "Presjan! You there?"

Roland sniffed the air and suddenly winced. "_Oh…_ Ascended ancestors…. Presjan, what the hell have you been eating? A human shouldn't be able to make smells like that."

Alicia caught a whiff of the stench and grimaced. 'Venting a wraith' seemed to be a common phrase for her recently.

* * *

It had been four hours since the initial attack. Ronon began to fear that Demetus hadn't made it back to Atlantis and they were waiting for non-existent reinforcements. It wasn't like things weren't completely clusterfucked.

The healthy villagers were either opting to go to the gate themselves in the dark of starlight, or staying and defending their ill. Alicia had gone outside of radio contact or wasn't responding. Ronon wouldn't accept that she and Roland's team were dead without a body in front of him. He figured Alicia thought the same thing about Reyna.

As he walked amongst the defenders. Ronon noticed just how bad things had gotten. Some of the settlers insisted on burying their dead, others were shell-shocked and bipolar in their moods. What made things even worse was the wounded and the pregnant lady whom Reyna had come to attend to. The stress had driven her into premature labor. Ronon wasn't sure if they could move her at this point.

No other attacks had come, but that didn't mean Ronon wasn't prepared. He wished Aleron could help him with the ferocity he'd come to expect of the Olim, but instead he was busy trying to keep a hysterical woman from falling apart – all this besides the pregnant woman whom Rafaela, the near hysterical woman was helping.

Sheppard had started to drift off, Ronon knew he must have been bleeding internally and while the adrenaline of the last fight had helped, he was fading. Sheppard fought to stay awake now, sitting outside against the wall next to Ronon who crouched and watched the dark horizon.

"You wanna go golfing next week?"

John turned to Ronon's question; his face was a shade lighter and his smile drunken. "You hate golfing."

"It's boring." Ronon muttered. "But I think I can spice it up. Get a bigger stick and make the balls explosive. You gotta take out targets with them."

John chuckled and shook his head idly. "Does everything have to blow up?"

"Yes." Ronon turned to John and smirked. "Everything's funner with explosions."

John tried to breathe deeply but felt his lungs complain. In the end he was getting close to hyperventilation which he knew was dangerous in his state. He didn't feel his ribs floating about though so he was thankful for not getting flail ribs. "What about women?" John motioned in towards the building where Rafaela and Aleron were still busy tending to those inside. "Explosions are bad there."

Ronon looked inside, cracked his jaw, and then deadpanned. "What are you talking about? It ends with the biggest explosion of all."

John fought his laugh. While the Ronon he knew from Pegasus might have still existed deep inside, this new more self-aware Ronon was nothing but an improvement.

* * *

Rafaela was on the verge of insanity. She didn't know what she was doing; she was an only child dammit! "Just... I dunno, help her be comfortable! Just be there for her!"

Aleron shrugged in confusion. "Be there? I'm already here! There's no higher level of me being here than already being here!"

The pregnant settler continued her heavy breathing, desperately needing oxygen to stay conscious. "Ohh it's starting up again!"

Rafaela felt like putting her hands to her face and screaming like that picture she'd seen. Astrophysics and mechanical engineering were _not_ the kind of sciences that dealt with babies. She dealt with the birth of stars, not humans! "Okay okay! Just uhh… just…"

The pregnant woman didn't look amused. She reached out and pulled Aleron close with inhuman strength. "Get me water!"

Aleron struggled to get free from her rock solid claw of a hand. When he finally did he quickly scurried out of the building leaving Rafaela behind. Rafaela grimly thought 'Traitor' and got back to trying to do… something.

* * *

As Aleron stepped outside, he heard a commotion from ahead. Particle shots lit up the air as the ground began to shake again; the Amoeba's were attacking once more.

Aleron rushed forward and unsung his rifle, he had no idea what Ronon's battle plan was and it was folly to think that just himself added would give them a decisive edge, but all together they stood a chance of holding long enough for reinforcements.

The first amoeba came up and flung a barrage of rocks and dirt forward in a spray of shrapnel. Aleron heard and barely felt the pain of the two settlers who'd been caught, but returned fire nonetheless. Aleron fired a burst from his rifle as he skidded into place next to Ronon who'd taken over one of the turrets. "We won't last long!"

Another amoeba came up; they'd learned from experience and were using dirt and rocks as cover to absorb most of the incoming fire. Ronon held down the trigger of the particle cannon burning through the rock and dirt with pure firepower. Several explosions were heard as the settlers used what grenades they had to try and dissuade the amoebas from continuing their attack.

Aleron felt the ground beneath him shake. Ronon noticed as well as he spun to fire at one particularly brave amoeba that had bounced up towards the village. "Cover me!"

Aleron spun and dodged Ronon as he swung the turret around. Aleron aimed right for the ground and fired.

The strangest feeling of burning filled his mind, the amoeba felt pain just the same as he did and the mental emissions were just as disorienting. Aleron forced his mind into a focused state and kept firing.

The amoeba that had tried to uproot the turret fell back, Ronon now aiming his cannon directly at the floor and burning several feet into the ground with each shot. Aleron felt a sudden danger and spun around.

A pair of amoebas were rushing his position, they'd managed to disable one of the turrets and there was a hole in their defensive line. The settlers had thankfully run to avoid death, but without the turret things looked bleak. Ronon screamed as he swung his turret around and opened fire. Aleron roaring as he held the trigger down on his rifle.

The Amoebae flanked out as the fire raked them, Aleron decided to imitate Alicia and pulled out his particle magnum sidearm. The amoeba rushing him leapt up and aimed for his face. Aleron rolled with the hit but punched forward with his magnum.

The Amoeba enveloped his arm and began to spin to try and fling Aleron around, Instead; Aleron merely squeezed the trigger and blew apart the amoeba from the inside. It exploded in a wide spray of strange biogoo. Aleron looked back to the village and saw settlers running for their lives to the building with the wounded as a particularly large amoeba slammed into another building, uprooting it from its foundation.

His arm hurt form the amoeba's attempt at the twist, but Aleron ignored it. Survival meant more than a few pulled tendons. "Ronon! "

Fire came from all sides as the settlers realized the danger. Aleron even watched Sheppard stagger out of the building he was in and collapse on the ground. His rifle weakly pointing up and firing. Ronon unleashed the last quarter of the clip his turret had, the barrel steaming the humidity around the air.

Aleron fired as well and the amoeba spun around spreading the fire along its skin its size gave it a tough durability. Forcing himself to do what he had to, Aleron charged forward and screamed as he donned his helmet. "_Nex Ab Umbras!"_

* * *

John had no clue what the hell Aleron had just screamed, but he watched in amazement as Aleron dove forward firing his gun all the while and punched into the Amoeba just like Alicia had in their first encounter. The Amoeba flinched and warbled, it spun around and shattered a nearby cart some settlers were using as cover.

He felt cold and weak, pure adrenaline was keeping him awake as he saw the Amoeba flash from the inside, Aleron shredding it to pieces at horrible risk to himself. It wasn't at all like when Alicia had done it, the Amoeba fought back and jumped into the air, smashing itself against the ground and beginning to burrow.

John's breath caught as the amoeba left the concrete foundation and sunk into the ground amidst sprays of biogoo from its wounds. The battle was over for the moment, but Aleron hadn't come out.

"God _dammit!"_

_

* * *

_

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Many apologies for the late update. Been incredibly busy with new job and studies. Hoping to get this done this week :) Huge thanks to all readers :D

* * *

Alicia was worried. They'd been unchallenged the entire trip and on the edge of the horizon there was the purple of sunrise oncoming. The tree tops glowed an eerie violet green with an even more mystifying orange fog on the ground. The dirt below Alicia's feet as she stepped forward squished with each trudge. She heard Presjan and Ashima complaining quietly behind her about the 'ground issues' that never happened on a ship.

Roland sidled up to Alicia and whispered. "Sun'll come up soon; we're pretty far from the ring."

Alicia felt her arms ache from exhaustion, her legs burned as she hopped over a fallen trunk that had rotted away in the muck of the lagoon. She turned towards Roland and muttered. "You willing to lose her?"

Roland stayed quiet for a moment as he hopped over the same trunk. Alicia saw in his eyes his frustration at the situation. "We willing to die trying?"

Alicia narrowed her eyes and saw Presjan and Ashima watching from afar. Whether they could hear or not didn't matter to Alicia anymore. She decided to teach these Travelers an Earthism in reply. "You ever hear of the golden rule?"

Roland shook his head. Alicia saw him tense his neck. "Nah."

"Do onto others as you'd want done to yourself." Alicia recited from memory. "She's saved our lives, only fair we return the favor." With that, Alicia turned and continued forward. She no longer cared if she had backup or not.

Roland sighed and turned to Presjan and Ashima; both nodded solemnly and continued their trek towards Reyna's elusive signal.

They'd walked quietly for another ten minutes when they saw Alicia stop at the end of a long forest of trees. Alicia looked out from the clearing and gasped. "Oh my god."

Roland sidled up again and was equally shocked. "By the ancestors… it's _huge."_

Alicia heard Ashima make a strange squeaking sound as she looked out. "They'll never believe us."

Alicia tapped in a command to her wrist computer and heard a faint whirring as her HUD's camera began to tape the sight in front of her. "Oh yes they will."

* * *

Ronon growled softly as he helped John up into a sitting position. He'd gone even whiter than usual and Ronon knew he was hurt badly. The fact that John didn't drift into shock was testament to just how determined the Colonel could be. Ronon admired that about John, but at the same time he knew that it was risking his life. "Come on, don't pass out on me buddy."

John chuckled drunkenly. Ronon could sense John's endorphins were making him crazy and he'd say or do just about anything now. "Fuck it, imma die on my feet."

Ronon snorted. He'd seen John drunk before but this was something else. Around them, the villagers tended to their wounded and scavenged what remained of the broken homes. There weren't enough of them to make a stand against another onslaught of the amoebas and it wouldn't be long until that happened. "Aleron?"

"Gone." John shook his head wearily. "Amoeba got him." Silence - With a soft sigh, Ronon reached into his side pack and pulled out a pair of grenades. He handed one to John.

John accepted the grenade with a weary hand and remained quiet. Ronon wasn't going anywhere and neither was he, but that didn't mean they were just going to die without a fight.

The pair stayed quiet for a few moments, simply watching the sun begin to rise off in the horizon. The silence was broken by a radio signal. _"This is Aleron… some assistance would be nice."_

John turned to Ronon in shock, Ronon turned back and snorted. "Tough bastard." He clicked his radio on. "Aleron, where the hell are you?"

_"Beneath you I think. The creature took me below but my suit protected me. I managed to kill it but now I'm... trapped."_

John snorted softly in amusement. He laid his head back against the wall and took deep breaths. Ronon worried at how slow John's movements had become. "Can you move?"

"_No… I think my left arm is dislocated. As I've said I'm…trapped."_

John sighed and shook his head. The entire village was torn to shreds and there just wasn't anything left to fight with. Ronon saw the determination in John's eyes; it was time to move out. "We can't get to you just yet. Maybe…"

A familiar sound suddenly filled the air; Ronon turned his head towards it and spotted a light in the sky. John chuckled and made a content sound. "It's about fucking time."

* * *

Carson lowered the Jumper carefully into the middle of the village. Three other Jumpers set down as well each spewing out medics, engineers and soldiers. Several Travelers including Demetus behind him jumped out of the back before he'd even landed and deployed Particle Cannon turrets. Beside him, Colonel Carter coordinated the reinforcement defenses. "AR-3 and 4, deploy your turrets along the perimeter of the village. AR-5 and 6 assess the village and begin evacuation procedures."

The ship finally touched down and Sam got up. Carson watched her expertly flip out her particle rifle and cock it to the size of a P90. There wasn't a point to discussing the dilemma, people were hurt and it was his responsibility now.

He listened to the radio chatter as the teams worked. Carson grabbed his medical kit and looked around. The village had been devastated by the attacks and many of them were hurt. The Traveler and Settler Marine had quickly deployed a layered defense, much stronger than anything they'd have had originally. Carson lamented the state of things, it felt so unnecessary.

Quickly he followed Carter to where the wounded were being kept in the last building left standing. He held his gasp seeing how white Sheppard looked as Carter and Ronon now helped him onto a stretcher with two other medics. Movement all around him told him just how much pandemonium the attack had caused.

Without asking permission, Carson knelt down across from Sam and began to check John's vitals using an ancient scanner. He heard Sam whisper something to John as she held his bloody hand, and then get up to continue coordinating the defense. Carson didn't pry.

The scanner beeped as it finished and Carson grimaced. John looked up wearily at him and smiled. "How close this time doc?"

Carson frowned and rummaged in his kit. Moving John right now was dangerous, he needed to at least get a transfusion and some adrenaline to keep him from slipping under. "Too close, has anyone found Reyna yet?"

Ronon grunted as he supported John from behind. The two other medics had left the area and were now busy with other wounded. "Nope. Vega and AR-2 went after her. Haven't heard from them."

John flinched as Carson gave him a small dose of adrenaline and prepared the mobile IV with blood to try and stave off shock. He took in a sharp breath through his teeth and then muttered. "She'll get her back."

Carson remained quiet and just kept working. Ronon, now appeased that John would be taken care of, took off and grabbed several engineers before pointing to the ground, Carson didn't understand why, but he didn't care enough at this time. With reinforcements, the village would hold until everyone was ready for transport. Now it was just a matter of tending to the wounded.

* * *

Alicia hopped down into the mouth of the massive chasm that glowed an eerie blue. The video of the amoeba filled valley, almost a lake of them had drawn a shiver from her bones. To her sides, Roland and Presjan kept their weapons on overload ready to fire as they drifted deeper into the 'lake'.

Surprisingly, the amoebas weren't hostile. Alicia noticed how the ground seemed to solidify in front of her, the amoebas moving aside giving her passage. The way they reacted to her team's presence was creepy. She was suddenly back on Saudade with Dusty and Dan among some very squicky plants. Ashima held the rear, scanning using a modified Traveler scanner she'd jury-rigged onto her suit.

They finally reached the bottom of the chasm. Light from above was non-existent and only the glow of these amoebas let Alicia see where she was leading the team. She didn't know if they were following out of the loyalty the military training had had imbued in them, or whether they were just too catatonically scared to say anything. In either case, Alicia could feel a wave of angst washing over her from the creatures surrounding them. This cave was filled with pain and suffering, but not theirs. It hurt on a completely different level than Alicia had ever experienced.

The chasm led into a cave system, Alicia didn't feel like trusting the amoebas to stay glowy so she pulled out a glow stick and cracked it open. The others did the same, and shockingly the Amoebas reacted with seeming panic.

The team was surrounded, a sheer cliff that was barely scalable in their armor was behind, gods knew what kind of monsters lay ahead, and yet... Alicia didn't feel any fear. They could have easily torn the team apart without even trying. Just wash them away in a sea of sticky amoeba, but for some reason they weren't.

Alicia noticed on her HUD display Reyna's tracking signal approach. Her fingers danced on her rifle ready to fire and go down fighting, but the feelings in the air as she breathed were so strange. A paralysis came over her and she was sure the rest of her team as they watched Reyna's suit's signal flow through the water-like amoeba's directly in front of them. They formed an impenetrable wall, one of them moving up slightly with Reyna's signal directly inside.

"Rey?" Alicia managed to squeak out. As much as she wanted to rush ahead, something held her back. A sound of such high frequency it forced her tense muscles to relax, but only enough to leave her standing defenseless. She heard Ashima cursing softly. _"Shit-shit-shit… Not good, not good, not good!"_

Alicia grit her teeth as she watched the amoeba ahead of her shift around like a blob of condensed jelly. She was suddenly reminded of flan and struggled not to laugh. It was such a weird thought given that way that her mind was filled with an overwhelming feeling of sorrow. It was like having another mind inside hers and it was overriding her control. _No… dammit… you're a giant flan! No me vas a derrotar! _Alicia forced herself to focus on her own thoughts, blocking out what was clearly now the feelings of the amoebas. They reacted to her defiance by shifting around, wobbling about like Jell-O.

Finally, Reyna's body penetrated the exterior of the amoeba, her armor was still on but without her helmet, the amoeba had wrapped itself inside and filled it out. Reyna's face was in an odd twisted expression; Alicia felt a spike of adrenaline rush through her limbs at the state of her friend.

Reyna's neck twisted around even as she seemed to float on the pooled edge of the amoeba. A strange guttural noise came from her mouth, her hair matted to her face from the wet pulpiness of the amoeba. Alicia felt her muscles tensing up again. Anger at Reyna's condition was retaking control of her senses. She hadn't even realized the others had dropped to their knees in the presence of such a strong feeling. Alicia only now noticed as she checked for backup. Ashima was the only one holding on, one knee on the ground, her hand checking her wrist computer's scans.

Reyna coughed up fluids that sprayed down to the floor. Alicia forced her head up and managed to utter. "Reyna…"

Reyna's eyes shifted down jerkily towards Alicia, her neck twisting to get a better view but from the side. _"… V-v-vibra…vibration."_

Alicia broke free of the strange hold on her body and stepped forward. The amoebas seemed curious now, letting Reyna down to Alicia's level obviously to serve as a middleman in communications. Alicia had no clue how any of this had happened. A few minutes ago she'd been ready to blow these things to hell, but now there was a distinct feeling of betrayal, a feeling that kept her finger off the trigger.

The amoebas wanted to talk, and Reyna was going to be their voice.

* * *

Sam watched with calm reservation as the engineers carefully dug in the area Ronon had told them. She'd winced hearing about Aleron but kept her composure. While their new system had Ronon outranking her, she still clearly demonstrated her military training now with her organizational skills. The teams had set up a much more fortified defense, using the Jumpers as a CAP to prevent any ambushes or sneak attacks. One of the Jumpers now ferried the wounded back to Atlantis, but a few people were still too critical to move. John included.

The soldier within Sam brushed it aside. John was hurt; there wasn't another way around it. Focusing on him would put others at risk and no matter what her feelings were or weren't, since she still wasn't clear on exactly what had happened to them. This wasn't the time though and Sam quickly took stock of the situation.

The sun was rising in the east, light filtered through the treetops giving the place a homey feel, but at the same time Sam knew they wouldn't be coming back here. She rushed around giving advice and orders to the traveler and settler marines who'd come with them, it seemed pointless since there didn't seem to be any attack incoming, not with the level of firepower they'd brought.

Now it was just a matter of recovering and retreating. Sam had only learned through Ronon that Vega had run off after Reyna, admirable, and something she herself had done, but being the one in charge suddenly gave her new insight into how Hammond must have felt. Alicia wasn't Sam's favorite person, but the chance that she'd thrown her life away even in something as noble as saving a friend wasn't something Sam wanted.

Once the defenses were up and solid, Sam motioned towards Aralus, one of the Traveler team leaders who had the Ancient gene. The Traveler scurried up with a grizzled looking face. "Yeah?"

Sam motioned out to the wilderness. "Vega took a team out there to find Reyna. Take a team and go find her."

Aralus turned to the wild and growled. "They're probably dead by now. They'd have come back."

Sam shook her head. "We're finding out one way or another. In any case you're not walking. Take a Jumper and track their signals. Navras and Alenko are on their way to give us some orbital support; they'll be here within three hours. You've got that long." Sam watched in Aralus' face how he became used to the idea. She wasn't sure if any of the other team was still alive, but enough people had gone after _her_ to give Alicia and her team the same chance.

* * *

_"Vibration… you break and shatter, you leech and do not give."_

Alicia had no clue what the hell the amoeba was saying, but Reyna's voice sounded so strange. It warbled slightly and didn't at all sound like something a human voice should be capable of. Alicia replied. "What? Vibration? The hell are you talking about?" Reyna shook from side to side like a ragdoll; Alicia clenched her fists seeing her friend tossed around as such. "Wait! Wait dammit! I don't understand you!"

Reyna again spoke, the warbling inhuman voice continued. "_Life… ground to halt… water with no river, no flow back, loop of life interrupted… broken ring."_

Alicia had heard the Travelers speaking enough to try and make a guess, around her the amoebas slowly closed in, trapping her and the rest of her team inside the chasm. The light intensified and she could now see that giant stalactites reached down at her like horrible clawed fingers of some long dead god. This place creeped her the _hell_ out. "Ring? You mean the Stargate?"

Reyna jerked up and down, her voice still haunting. "_Flow… life flows… you do not flow… you divert. You vibrate and leech; peace… peace was broken with loop. You never return, you break and shatter!"_

Alicia had no clue what to say now. This amoeba was using her friend in the most horrible way she could imagine and just couldn't communicate effectively. Finally aggravated, Alicia screamed. "Then let her go! We'll leave! We won't come back! Just let her go and we can stop fighting! We'll go back home and leave you alone!"

Reyna's body stayed still for awhile before murmuring. "_Peace… the peace is broken, vibrations in the night, leech the dead, consume like others… vibrations in the pool of life… the life surrounds and flows… you do not flow anymore…"_

To Alicia's surprise, Ashima clawed her way forward along with Roland. Presjan was still incapacitated, tears flowing down his cheeks from some unknown pain. Alicia watched Ashima raise her head as if fighting some power and growl. "Vibrations… you mean our crops… that's it! You don't want us farming?"

Roland seemingly understood as well. Alicia didn't get how they were able to interpret the strange dialect, but now that she thought more about it rather than Reyna's predicament… "Anymore…? No… it's not the crops, it's the guns! They only attacked once we brought guns!"

Reyna shook up and down in a jubilant spasm. Alicia realized how she could make peace with them now. Fighting every instinct in her body, Alicia winced hard and felt the sweat on her brow trickle down her nose. She took in a staggering breath and forced her arms to move.

Ashima and Roland both gasped as they watched Alicia's particle rifle clatter to the ground, and then her strained voice. "Drop your guns… they're scared shitless…"

Alicia only prayed it worked, because the last thing she wanted was to get inside one of these smelly things again.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

Aleron felt the ground above him begin to shake and soften. He idly wondered just how undignified he must have looked being pulled out of the slimy muck of the dead amoeba feet first. He'd shut his mind off to the pain in his left arm, but even he couldn't drown it all out as he felt the first tug on his foot.

_"We've got him! Get a medic!"_

Medics. Not even fully fledged doctors. IT didn't matter. Aleron was okay apart from his dislocated shoulder and various bumps and bruises. Some meditation and perhaps some of that glorious morphine Carson hoarded would set Aleron up nicely. The ground gave way into a purple sky, the sun was maybe an hour away from rising and they'd managed to hold.

Aleron flopped onto the floor and groaned from the hands pulling at him. He didn't have to heart to tell them to get away and just went with the flow. He looked around and saw the village had been torn apart by the last attack, but the arrival of reinforcements had begun the evacuation.

His head pulsated with the mental energy in the area. Chaos, pain, anger, the one seemingly missing emotion was fear. He didn't feel much fear from the people here. Something told him that these people had lived in fear for so long that it just didn't affect them the same way anymore.

Finally reoriented, Aleron pushed himself up off the ground and spotted the three engineers who'd dug him out, as well as Ronon and Carson approaching. It was good to see that not too many people had gone down in the fight. Carson grimaced upon seeing the odd angle of Aleron's left arm. "Aleron, we should get that in a sling."

Aleron grit his teeth and shook his head. "No need." He reached over and grabbed his limp arm. Consciously ignoring the left side of his nervous system, Aleron pulled his limp arm forward and then rocked it to the side. The ball bone structure of his shoulder popped back into place making his neck tense instinctively, even if he ignored the pain.

Around him though, several of the Engineers and even Carson and Ronon flinched slightly, all reaching for their own shoulders. Aleron winced – he'd forgotten that even if he didn't feel the pain, his mind would still register it and affect those around him.

The battle was over, but coming back to the reality of the situation, Aleron saw that his help was still needed. He ignored Carson's pleas to get his arm looked at and noticed Ronon just give him a wry smile. Carter had taken control of the situation, quickly filling the jumpers in the area with the wounded and shuttling them back to the porta. He wasn't needed for that, so Aleron just headed back to the one still remaining building to assist with the wounded there.

On the way, he noticed Sheppard sitting back on a stretcher with some equipment attached to him. Good, Sheppard was in a bad state and Carson's skilled touch would save him. There'd been enough death today.

As he entered the building, he saw Rafaela still by the pregnant Traveler's side. She'd been in labor for hours now and it wouldn't be long for a birth. She saw him limp into the room along with Carson and frowned. "Aleron! Where have you been! Where's the water?"

Aleron couldn't think of a reply – at least one that didn't involve violence.

* * *

"It's working…. They're backing off…" Ashima couldn't believe it, Vega had been right and the Ameobae were actually scared of them with the weapons. Basic animal instinct, defend yourself when cornered.

Reyna remained mostly inside the Amoeba, her face and voice not her own as it now spoke with less intensity. "Thievery…. Butchers… ripped from life itself."

Vega held her arms out in a peaceful gesture that got Ashima thinking, what did these amoebas think of outstretched arms? For all Ashima knew, Vega was requesting to kidnap their children. Her mind was all over the place as the feeling of oppression continued to barrage her. She gritted her teeth and focused. Ashima wasn't going to just take this sitting down!

Forcing her arm up, Ashima ignored the conversation Vega had with the possessed Reyna. The amoebas were seemingly telepathic in nature, but at the same time they must have had some other method of communication if they needed Reyna to act as a go-between. Lights, sounds, even movement had to play a part. Ashima quickly set her wrist computer to a wide area scan, taking in all stimuli and trying to find patterns to them. She felt the computer processors in her armor begin to heat up as they chewed through the information trying to figure it out.

It felt like forever had passed when the computer chimed in her ear .Pages of information flowed in her HUD as the voices of the Amoeba's were semi-translated before her. They weren't happy to say the least. "Vega!"

Vega turned from her limp standing position to Ashima. She'd gotten nowhere with the Amoeba controlling Reyna. "What?"

"They're saying something about the planet! We violated it or something." Ashima couldn't make heads or tails of what the gibberish in front of her meant. Harsh words in random places, no sentence structure. She couldn't help but think that these weren't words at all, but rather feelings expressed as words. Ashima cursed softly, this 'feelings' crap made her head spin. "I think it has to do with the farms!"

* * *

Alicia fought the urge to drop to the ground in oppression. She looked at Ashima who was the only one of the three behind her who was still coherent. "What?"

Ashima shrugged in what looked a painful gesture. "I don't know! I'm trying to translate what they're saying to each other with this thing and that's what it says!"

This was getting stranger by the minute. Alicia turned back to the Amoeba in charge and yelled. "Is that it? Do you think we're stealing from you?"

Reyna bowed forward and then shot upright. Her eyes stared unfocused at Alicia. "Reaping the dead… eating life… stealing life!"

Still it didn't make any sense to Alicia, but she decided to try again nonetheless. "You need to be clearer! What life are we stealing? What the hell are you talking about!"

* * *

Sam watched the Jumper take off as the second stage of the evacuation moved out. They'd gotten the worst of the wounded out and only the critical patients who couldn't be moved remained. John was one of them and Sam struggled to keep focused. "Set those charges on the supports and link their detonator signals to 4.3 gigahertz!"

Around her, the reinforcements who'd joined her rescue mission each tended to their own tasks. Some manned particle turrets, others patrolled to keep an eye out for any potential attack. Others still just wandered around helping the few remaining evacuees who'd stayed behind to let others go first. Sam had seen this all before, the nobility, the selflessness… the risk.

She'd still had no word from Aralus about Major Vega's team. In fact she'd heard nothing from them which had her worried. Everything that was happening now was a worry. It was oddly comforting to fall back on her training and do what she'd spent most of her life doing. Now she was organizing a demolition team to destroy the last building left – the last sign that a settlement had been here.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Sam looked out towards the horizon and took only a second to herself to wonder how she'd ended up in such a situation. Brushing it aside, Sam got back to work and flagged down another pair of Travelers who looked confused about what to do.

* * *

"'Yes'? That's _it?_"

Ashima again shrugged. It was the first clear message through the translator and it couldn't get any simpler. "Don't look at me! That's what it says!"

Alicia ground her teeth and stared back at the Amoeba. Presjan and Roland had begun to recover and were now on one knee each, neither holding their weapons but in an angry mood. "Farming? You're attacking us because we _farmed!"_

The Amoeba shook and set the rest of them off, the cave shook and bits of the ceiling began to fall leaving dust trails in the air. One bounced off Alicia's shoulder reminding her just how precarious the situation was. Behind her, she heard Ashima quietly cursing repeated under her breath. Presjan groaned and struggled to his feet, obviously ashamed that he'd been brought down by essentially jellyfish. Roland just remained quiet and fell back onto his rear, sitting and almost welcoming some kind of attack.

Alicia didn't lose her defiant post as Reyna's voice screamed. "Leech! The dead live no more! Cycle of rebirth is broken! Parasite!"

Finally fed up, Alicia screamed back. "Then we'll leave! Give her back and we'll never bother you again! If you don't give her back then we'll bring back more of these!" Alicia motioned down towards her fallen Particle Rifle. The Amoebas shuddered again; audible cracks reverberated in the cave letting Alicia know this final gamble might have a serious price.

The Amoeba ahead of Alicia stopped shuddering and waited. Reyna's body kept floating in the muck and after what seemed an eternity said. "Leave? Leech no longer?"

Alicia growled in frustration. All she wanted was Reyna back and to get the hell off this planet. "Yes."

* * *

Aralus watched the biometric scanners of the Jumper intently. The ground was so lush with vegetation it was difficult to pinpoint distinct animal signatures in the midst of It all. The funny thing was that a Traveler Scanner wouldn't have had the same issues as instead of detecting the EMF given off by living beings, it scanned for pulses which would indicate animal life. Plants would be merely background noise, not foreground obstruction.

He didn't want to go back to Carter and tell her that he couldn't find Major Vega's team. Aralus had seen what Carter was like when she was mad.

It'd been another three minutes of searching before something finally popped up. He turned to the pilot. "Hey, over there. Heat signatures." Zooming in on the radar map, Aralus recognized the signals the Jumper's scans detected. "It's them! But… seven of them?"

* * *

Alicia heard the Jumper before she saw it. Reyna clung to her like a life preserver in the middle of the ocean as they crawled out of the cave. The Amoebas had let them escape, and even more, they'd given back the 2 others they'd kidnapped. Alicia silently realized that what John had told her was right.

Ashima, Roland and Presjan were all quiet as they helped the others come out as well. None of them had said a word but it was more from what looked like extreme exhaustion than unwillingness. Reyna mumbled softly, her hair slick and smelly from the fluids of the Amoeba. Alicia stopped at the lip of the cave system and watched the Jumper touch down.

* * *

Amidst the now emptying building in the village, Carson quietly worked to help this settler woman give birth. The noise outside had dampened, and only the most critical people still needed to be evacuated. "Alright, almost there! Just a little further and we'll be all done here." Carson held back his worry that this woman was giving birth in the middle of a warzone. He had Rafaela holding the woman's shoulders supporting her, while Aleron acted as his nurse. "Ally, I need another towel."

Aleron quietly complied even as the woman screamed from the effort of pushing. Carson forced himself to focus on the woman, and not about asking Aleron about how the Olim treated birth. He'd have plenty of time to ask later once they weren't under threat of being crushed, eaten, or gods knew what the Amoebas did with the poor souls they'd taken.

As loud as the woman was screaming, the birth was coming along with few complications. She'd had children before and this wasn't anything new. Carson could already see the head of the baby as it emerged and he gently urged the woman on.

It only took a few minutes to end the hour's long ordeal. Carson winced as the woman gave a final scream and her child emerged from her womb. With the towel Aleron had given him, he carefully set the baby in it keeping the now evident male warm. Carson quietly cut the umbilical cord and showed the woman the baby. "Here we are… he's beautiful."

When the woman didn't reply, Carson internally gasped. Her eyes were hazy and what had been a regular occurrence had suddenly gotten dire. Caron turned to Aleron and cautiously handed him the baby in the towel. "Here! Hold him!"

Aleron took the child into his arms with a look of surprise. Carson only caught a glimpse of Aleron's strange grimace before putting his attention towards the mother.

Rafaela moved back, giving Carson room to maneuver. He quickly checked her blood pressure and heartbeat, then moving onto her eyes and breathing. He quickly calmed down as she was just exhausted from the titanic effort she'd put into the birth, and Carson was now relatively sure she'd be okay. He made a mental note to clear his schedule for the next few days to give everyone involved checkups.

He turned back to Aleron to take the baby from him to his mother, when he noticed that Aleron wasn't there anymore. Instead, Rafaela held the baby and now moved closer. "Rafaela…. Where's Aleron?"

* * *

John was high as a kite and feeling like he was waiting to wake up. His ribs still hurt, and the taste of copper wasn't going away, but at least now Carson had given him a stimulant and painkillers. The oxygen wasn't bad either as his head wasn't heavy anymore.

He'd watched Sam take charge of the situation like the pro he knew she was. Ronon had easily fallen into line with her as well, both giving orders and coordinating the evacuation, but neither overriding the other. John liked that. Ronon always had reservations about Sam but it seemed he was over them now.

The door beside him swung open and Aleron stumbled out. John could have sworn he was drunk given the gait he had. "Ally?" Aleron groaned loudly and pressed his palms into his temples. John had no clue what'd happened but Aleron looked in shock. "What, what is it?"

Aleron drew in a deep breath and spoke in a faltering voice. "Monsters… "

John snorted and shook his head idly. Aleron must have been feeling it from his encounter with the amoeba. "Coming from you, that's not reassuring."

"No, not them." Aleron turned to John, John opened his eyes wide seeing the tears streaking down Aleron's face, the expression of horror in his eyes.

"Huh? Who, what?"

Aleron shuddered softly. "_You."_

John didn't reply, but Aleron didn't give him a chance as he stalked off towards the Jumpers. _'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'_

* * *

Alicia set Reyna down on the bench in the back of the Jumper and winced as the first light of the sun over the horizon caught her eyes. She had her arm up protecting herself and then shook it off as the now packed Jumper closed the rear hatch.

Reyna babbled incoherently and curled up into a fetal position. Alicia saw the trauma that Reyna had endured. The Amoeba had violated her in such a way that Alicia just didn't know what to do. She'd seen grown men and woman in the armed forces break down into tears and post traumatic stress disorder. This wasn't like that at all. Reyna was hurt in a way she wasn't sure was possible to be hurt, as did the settler woman and traveler man the amoeba's had returned as well.

Alicia tried to control her breathing. Snipers knew how to hold their breath and their every bodily motion. A slip up with a scoped weapon was the difference between a kill and giving away your position. Her training just wasn't working this time around. "Aralus! Get us home! These people need a doctor!"

From the front cabin, Aralus replied. "Navras is in orbit! We can go there!"

It took Alicia a few seconds to realize that Aralus had said. When it finally clicked, she realized why her training wasn't working. She wasn't part of the Air Force any longer, she was an Atlantean. "…Aralus. Get me Navras on the radio."

* * *

Sam momentarily locked eyes with John as Carson and Ronon wheeled him onto the last jumper. The village was empty now, the final building just awaiting her detonation signal to erase from the surface. Aleron had clammed up and wouldn't respond to anyone, just sat quietly with his hand on his head in the back of the Jumper.

The sun had just barely crested over the edge of the horizon when Sam noticed something in the sky. A dark patch moved through the brightened air, almost like a UFO in the crazy videos she'd watched as a child. When the bright lights began to fall from it she lost all illusion of it being unidentified. "What the hell?"

The doors to the jumper hadn't closed yet, and Ronon turned to look. He recognized it instantly as well. He said nothing but watched the bright lights multiply and fall towards the ground.

The orbital bombardment from the Navras slammed into the ground miles away from the gate, but moments after they vanished on the horizon the ground began to shake. Sam knew the worst was yet to come and screamed at the pilot. "Take off! Get us the hell out of here _now!_"

* * *

Teyla and Daniel both waited in the control room. It had been difficult to keep the lid on just how bad the evacuation truly was. Torren had been left in a daycare center the settlers had opened to help with the sudden growth in the population. They'd already received the wounded that were now being treated, but the critical patients, as well as Major Vega and her team were still missing. The Travelers and particularly the Settlers were very worried over what was to come, and Teyla was getting tired of being the mediator between them.

She looked at Daniel who tapped his foot waiting for the last few jumpers. Everyone was there… Sam, John, Ronon, Carson… Everyone she'd come to see as her family over the past 2 years were taking their sweet time and…

The gate began to turn as an incoming wormhole was received. "Incoming signal! It's them!" The gate tech yelled. Teyla shot to her feet and dusted her tunic off. She wanted to have a hold of a weapon just to feel its comforting weight. She made a mental note to have the Travelers build a few more Particle Magnums. The gate tech raised his hand and motioned to the gate. "Radio!"

Daniel was the first to the edge of the balcony above the gate room. He tapped his headset activating the radio. Teyla did the same as she stood next to him. The signal came through garbled. "_This is Carter! Drop the shield, we're coming in hot!"_

Teyla turned to face a worried Daniel. "I thought they were amoebas?"

Daniel nodded and muttered. "So did I." He turned back to the gate. "Sam, shield's down but what's…?"

_"Fire! Blow through-blow through!"_

A moment later, a great wave of gooey mass came through the Stargate like a tidal wave. The guards on the floor panicked and ran in all directions as the still steaming hot goop sloshed onto the gate room. Another moment later and the Jumper came through covered in steaming bluish goop.

The gate shut down moments later. That meant they were down a Jumper and Teyla clenched her hands. Had they lost even more people?

* * *

Daniel opened the door to the Jumper Bay and was relieved to see John, Carson and Ronon coming through with more of the injured. John didn't look like he'd be walking for awhile so Daniel made a note to go visit him later on. Right now he needed answers.

So he was shocked when he saw a helmet fly out of the jumper and Sam's voice uttering curses he'd never thought to hear from her. As he neared the Jumper, Aleron limped out and stared at him. Daniel could feel the ferocity in the Olim and did a double take as Aleron growled. "You primates are monsters."

Unable to reply, Daniel just watched Aleron storm off. He pushed it out of his head – one problem at a time. He stepped onto the Jumper and saw Sam sitting on the bench with one arm balanced on her knee, supporting her forehead. "Sam… what happened?"

Sam turned up to Daniel, her face was red with shock and horror, but filled with a rage he'd rarely seen in her. "They killed them all! They just _killed _them!"

Daniel gulped more casualties. "…Vega's team?"

"No!" Sam screamed as she shot to her feet. "The aliens! Those amoeba things! The Traveler ship you sent is killing them all from orbit!"

Daniel's breath caught. What the _hell _was happening?

* * *

Alicia squeezed Reyna's hand as the doctor on-board the Navras went over her with a scanner. She'd woken up, but had been catatonic ever since. When Alicia had helped her onto the bed in the med bay, Reyna had taken her hand and hadn't let go. Alicia could feel the wave of adrenaline in her veins begin to cool off, the shock of the situation was only now getting to her.

It was unnecessary, but it was the best thing to do. The people around her had a sense of righteousness now, an overall feeling of satisfaction and justice filled the air even in the reprocessed air. She'd understood that in order to gain their trust, she had to act like them. It made them feel like they mattered and to Alicia, they did. Medics, crewmembers, even the Captain of the ship had looked at her in awe and almost worship. She could feel their eyes on her and the quiet hush that came about when she walked past.

Alicia Vega had given the order. The blood of countless alien life forms was on her hands and the Travelers and Settlers were going to call her a hero for it. Now if only she didn't feel like a complete monster.

* * *

**End of Lagoon**

**Teaser for Alien Instinct**

**Ashima:** "So, what do you think of me now?"

**Dan Drake:** "Apart from the obvious; nice. Someone's been practicing."

**Ashima:** "I had a good teacher, too bad he was hard as hell."

**Dan Drake:** "Only when you're around Ashy."

**Ashima:** "Says the man who's on his ass."


End file.
